Apple Specs for rMBP give away a secret, but what?

MacVidCards · May 19, 2015

More sloppy reporting:

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...details-you-may-miss-in-apple-s-new-macs.html

Talking about things missed, he mentions:

"What makes this much more exciting is that this chip can power incredibly high resolution displays. Support for up to 5120-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz on a single external display (model with AMD Radeon R9 M370X only), the company says (Hat tip: Owen Williams). This raises the question is Apple setting the stage for a new 5K external display? "

Except that spec specifies that the R9 370X CAN'T do 5K, just some mid-tier res between 4K and 5K.

So, either a new TB display coming in that weird res.....or Apple made a boo-boo typo, or that is a rebadged card that can't do 5K alongside running it's own resolution. Since a 5K iMac can do another 5K display, not sure what this means.

But in any case, several reporters have missed the real question.

Pressure · May 19, 2015

I believe this is just a limitation of Thunderbolt 2.

LG already has monitors with an aspect ration of 21:9 UltraWide.

poematik13 · May 19, 2015

You CAN get 5K @ 60hz with 2 TB2 cables at the same time. Dell's monitor does this.

But Apple would probably want an elegant, single cable solution. Which means we need DP 1.3 / TB3....which will come later this year

MacVidCards · May 19, 2015

Yes, maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Apple already has explicit support for 5K Dell on nMP and 5K iMac.

So specifying this weird res means something.

capuzino · May 19, 2015

MacVidCards said:
Except that spec specifies that the R9 370X CAN'T do 5K, just some mid-tier res between 4K and 5K.

Exactly, that resolution (5120x2160) is really one form of 5K. It's just 5K with 21:9 aspect ratio. And according to some articles and especially some TV releases, it will be the resolution of ultra wide televisions.

Stacc · May 19, 2015

The resolution does seem a bit odd. There is no current computer display that supports that high of a resolution with one cable.

I see basically one of two scenarios. First, this was not the ideal update and Apple realized it wasn't going to get the broadwell model they expected, and this is a filler update until skylake comes out. The other option is that Apple was waiting on the new graphics from AMD and WWDC may see some added functionality in the form of an external high resolution display. However the lack of thunderbolt 3 in this model makes this murky.

handsome pete · May 19, 2015

capuzino said:
it will be the resolution of ultra wide televisions.

Who is going to be making ultra-wide tvs? That seems like an incredibly niche market considering virtually no content will ever be created in that aspect ratio.

thornslack · May 19, 2015

Pretty much all cinema would benefit from 21:9. But with 1080p dominating it's hard to condone a purchase unless you're making a theater room IMHO.

lowendlinux · May 20, 2015

I'm slacking, I didn't know the MBP had been updated.

MacVidCards · May 20, 2015

lowendlinux said:
I'm slacking, I didn't know the MBP had been updated.

Another "we're not proud so we'll sneak it in" update.

Like watering down 2014 Mini.

Board members are thrilled. Profits up, computers down.

registudio · May 20, 2015

MacVidCards said:
Another "we're not proud so we'll sneak it in" update.

Like watering down 2014 Mini.

Board members are thrilled. Profits up, computers down.

Sadly agree ;o(

Cheers
Regis

lowendlinux · May 20, 2015

I guess the big question is; is this a real 3xx card or a re-branded 2xx?

**edit**

WCCF seems to think the non-high end cards are going to be re-branded. WCCF isn't exactly the most reputable source but the fact that is a "370" and we've not seen any other 3xx cards seems to lend credence to that idea. If AMD tries to re-brand for yet another generation it's going to kill what little market share they currently have. With new processors still a year plus out it's going to be a long year for AMD and might just spell the end of AMD as an independent company which make me a little sad.

twietee · May 20, 2015

Not sure who you mean by board members exactly..

, but yea, agreed.

Also, what's with all these MacBook threads around here?

capuzino · May 20, 2015

handsome pete said:
Who is going to be making ultra-wide tvs? That seems like an incredibly niche market considering virtually no content will ever be created in that aspect ratio.

Samsung and LG for now. It's a niche market, but like with 21:9 computer screens the market might expand. Who knows, LG and Samsung make most of Apple's computers' screens, maybe there will be more TVs and even monitors like that in the near future?

And there are a lot of movies in that aspect ratio, or close to it. Basically every CinemaScope or modern widescreen movie. Those are just letterboxed.

handsome pete · May 20, 2015

capuzino said:
Samsung and LG for now. It's a niche market, but like with 21:9 computer screens the market might expand. Who knows, LG and Samsung make most of Apple's computers' screens, maybe there will be more TVs and even monitors like that in the near future?

And there are a lot of movies in that aspect ratio, or close to it. Basically every CinemaScope or modern widescreen movie. Those are just letterboxed.

I don't see it expanding much, unless the intention is to bring different methods of viewing to the living room (picture in picture, stuff like that). Sure, 2.39:1 is a common cinema ratio (which this is close to), but 1.85:1 is still a common "standard" as well, not to mention that broadcast will not be changing from 16:9 any time in the foreseeable future.

Then there's the fact that you're losing vertical height for a wider picture. So say the maximum width someone has available for a TV is 60". If they replace their old 60" wide 16:9 tv with and ultra-wide model that fits in the same footprint, they're essentially losing resolution on a vast majority of the content.

Seems like this is strictly for a movie-centric setup (not including 1.85:1 films). And if that's the case, why not just get a projector?

MMcCraryNJ · May 22, 2015

Seems like computerworld was wrong (surprise, surprise...article reads like a MacRumors forum member post). They mistyped the resolution.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

"Support for up to 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz on a single external display (model with AMD Radeon R9 M370X only)"

So the new rMBP with the M370X will drive a 5K display.

MacVidCards · May 22, 2015

Actually looks like Apple made the typo.

This was captured 2 days ago vs today.

Probabl;y the tech guy was typing and his Apple Watch buzzed his wrist with a crucial Puppy Video on FaceBook as he copied the text into that page. Distractions....

So, now we have to wonder if it is the 2 cable system or 1. 1 cable would mean DP 1.3.

Stacc · May 22, 2015

Huh, interesting. Must be displayport 1.3. This bodes well for a standalone display to be announced soon.

It also turns out someone got one of the new macbook pro's with a M370X and it turns out its just Cape Verde, so 3 year old tech from AMD. It must have a new display controller on it though. Hopefully this means the rest of the 300 lineup gets this as well.

With any luck we will see a new mac pro with Fiji chips and a 5k display at WWDC.

Apple Specs for rMBP give away a secret, but what?

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